Educational Media Services has the facility to produce broadcast quality video for your research conference, lecture or promotional event. A crew of up to five can be hired to produce programmes to support teaching and to promote University or College activities and to film important events. We film every day in all the University lecture spaces, including the Exams Schools and the Sheldonian Theatre. We can even broadcast your event to a global web audience. We are also available for activities outside the University.

All material can be transferred into web formats for Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunesU), and (if requested) be published on our podcasting website http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk, or even embedded within any departmental sites. We run and maintain the main University media channels, which have over 5,000 videos, so our filming to publishing service is done efficiently so you don't have to worry about any of the technical issues. We can also help promote your material to gain greater impact. References and examples can be provided.

Educational Media Services has a professional film studio at IT Services, 13 Banbury Road that is perfect for filming interviews, webcasts and recording audio and video podcasts. The studio is fitted out with the latest lighting and recording technology and is connected to the fast University network for broadcasting webcasts and recording screen presentations with the lecture capture (Replay) technology to the VLE. The studio is also suitable for complex chroma-key / ‘green screen’ recording.

Are you organising an event and you’d like to reach a bigger audience than just the audience in Oxford? The webcast streaming service offered by Educational Media Services (EMS) provides a live professionally filmed video stream of your event or conference on the internet for a global public audience.

What kinds of events is this service suitable for?

This service is perfect for events designed to reach the widest possible global audience or for an event where the local Oxford audience is bigger than can fit the capacity of the room. It’s also been used for alumni events for colleges and for high profile keynote talks from speakers at all the major venues across the University. The media team will look after all the technical set-up and testing and will bring all the lights, cameras and microphones needed for a high-quality multi-camera broadcast.

How does it work?

A camera team will set-up and test their equipment and then film and mix the event live and beam the video to the Oxford University webcast portal where any member of the public can watch the broadcast. Each webcast will have its own web page and can be seen via any web browser on a desktop or a smart phone or tablet. A viewer will see an overview page with a description of the event and a video window showing a count-down to the event becoming live. The viewer doesn’t need to register in advance or use unfamiliar software.

We do a technical test in advance from the venue to check the IT and then use a commercial provider outside of the University network to handle the dissemination of the webcast this means there is no bandwidth impact on your local departmental network. Our service is designed to look after all the technical needs from start to finish and we have done numerous events in all the major locations within the University. Once the event has finished there will be immediately an online video of the whole event for those who missed the live version.

We’ll also send in advance guides to help you plan and to help with the marketing and publicity for the event.

If you are interested in using our digital video production or webcasting services, please do get in touch by referring to the "Booking our Services" section below. While our team is prepared to guide you through the process at every step of the way, we encourage you also to have a look at the following guides and checklists we have prepared for you below. They include:

Production Checklist

We'll ask you to download this form and fill it out prior to undertaking a video production project on your behalf. It includes basic questions regarding the size, scope, intended audience, location, speaker information, and key messages of your project.

Video Production Help Guide

The short 2-page Video Production Help Guide will help you plan a short promotional video for web use. It will guide you through video pre-production (key messages, staff required, audience, story boards, etc.), and what to expect from video production (technical set-up, lighting, interview techniques, b-roll/supporting footage etc.) and video post-production (editing, scripting, extra graphics and textual information, draft-to-final copy, etc.).

Using Audio-Visual Material in your Lectures and/or Research

Please visit the following link for advice and guidance on how to cite audio-visual material that you may wish to include in your work.

Producing a programme is a very time consuming activity and anyone considering using this service should book well in advance. Anyone wishing to hire the unit to cover an event should also book well in advance so that we can visit the location beforehand to determine how best to meet the requirements, ensure staff availabily and hire in extra resources if required.

Requirements for each project can vary widely, therefore, quotations are usually prepared on an individual basis.

For advice, or a quotation please contact us with details of your event on 01865 289983 or email media@it.ox.ac.uk